The article addresses the dreaded and potentially horrific experience of class discussions, stressing the importance of clear expectations for students. The beauty of taking the Socratic approach is your students can discuss passionate and ethical topics in a safe and controlled format, where the students take turns making points that directly reference teacher appointed text. Students are active learners as they research, prepare and deliver. They respect one another and gain important perspectives from other students. It also builds some sense of community as they consistently learn and practice how to respectfully discuss controversial topics.Also referred to as text based discussions, this activity can be assessed easily with a rubric and incorporates a number of other skills besides just content knowledge. It's a great exercise to team up with your english/language art colleagues, to spend a day in the library enhancing research skills or if you want some more tricks for literacy practices. I recommend this article as it concisely outlines norms, expectations, potential topics and a list of more resources.
Journal articel review 1
Chowning, Jeanne Ting . "Socratic Sessions in Science Class." The Science Teacher 76.7 (2009): 36 - 41. 5 Oct. 2009 <http://www.nsta.org/publications/article.aspx?id=Z349URi8cV6bBbX1vjDQMIPaZGUQeQ1pPFw1f0g!plus!n3A=>.
Summary of Article:
The article addresses the dreaded and potentially horrific experience of class discussions, stressing the importance of clear expectations for students. The beauty of taking the Socratic approach is your students can discuss passionate and ethical topics in a safe and controlled format, where the students take turns making points that directly reference teacher appointed text. Students are active learners as they research, prepare and deliver. They respect one another and gain important perspectives from other students. It also builds some sense of community as they consistently learn and practice how to respectfully discuss controversial topics.Also referred to as text based discussions, this activity can be assessed easily with a rubric and incorporates a number of other skills besides just content knowledge. It's a great exercise to team up with your english/language art colleagues, to spend a day in the library enhancing research skills or if you want some more tricks for literacy practices. I recommend this article as it concisely outlines norms, expectations, potential topics and a list of more resources.